[CKF Info] Day #53, Kinderockgarten

[Mark Sanders]

6/29/08

While in Denver over the last 10 day, I bought a used Dagger RPM Max that
would have been just peachy for Jack's PV party this morning, but it's still
in Denver and just arriving home late last night, I couldn't see myself
making that party anyway. But early bird that I am, I loaded up the old log
and met up with Jack, Steve Wilson, George Miller, Lee Shurie and Billy
Kroll just south of the lighthouse. Although they had no gear to join us on
our paddle, Steve and Vicky Brown were there to say hi and send us on our
way.

I was a bit trepidatious on this paddle, glass boats not really being the
proper attire for such a party, but also from the stories of the difficulty
launching. There's the wicked trail down the cliff and the round, toaster
sized rocks that constitute the 'beach' we'd be launching from. I started
having second thoughts upon seeing the trail down, but figured it was too
late to back out after everyone had seen me, so I was the first one down the
hill.

Steve had his Coaster today and Billy and I had full sized boats; the rest
were properly outfitted in WW boats. Billy planned to shoot pictures on the
day and his boat was sporting a nifty, new, double pontoon outrigger to give
him enough stability to shoot with his SLR. The WW crowd helped us glass
boaters launch in the water to avoid too much damage to our boat, a sight
that was worth the price of admission all by itself. Already hot, I was glad
for a dunk before launching and soon we were all headed up the coast.

Conditions started out mild, which was good for a few of us rather new to
Jack's style of fun. It allowed us to get wet to the level we felt
comfortable with out too much worry. Even with the small swells, surprise
rocks kept us on our toes throughout the day. A sneaky breaking wave hit me
on a rocky stretch, but a nice high brace kept me upright. We continued up
the coast playing in every playground Jack thought appropriate. At the Big
Pool, the water wasn't high enough to make our way in, but we found a small
cove to pull all the boats up on and took a break on the rocks.

By this time, the swells had increased quite a bit, but so had our
confidence playing in it. We headed to the north end of the Big Pool to play
in the clapotis of the surging waves. With my giant boat, I wasn't able to
do all the others were doing, but I still managed to push myself a bit. We
were all getting pretty stacked up together and on one of my passes I heard
Steve yell out, "look out, here comes the Queen Mary!" Close to some big
rocks while trying to get set up for a set coming in, I missed place a deep
stern rudder and found myself upside down, but took my time and came up with
no problem. Steve was testing himself by rolling in some trouble spots, but
had no trouble. Jack, George and Lee just made playing in the rocks and
waves seem effortless.

We decided to head home with enough energy to play a bit on the return trip,
but we had still been out a long time. The most fun came getting the big
boats back up on the shore back at the launch. And of course, there was the
dreaded climb up the cliff to the cars. On the beach, there was a group of
teenagers just back from spear fishing. I offered ten bucks to any two of
them if they'd haul my boat up, but got no takers. I started the long slog
up constantly stopping for air and couldn't refuse George when he came back
down to help. I may be ten years younger, but I think George pulled my boat
up farther than I did on the way up, and I was glad for the help.

It was nice to all be back at the top and everyone agreed it had been a
great day. We were all thankful for Jack for calling for this paddle and
sharing his skills and knowledge with us. It's clearly one of the best
benefits of CKF membership. While I often hang out where rocks and waves
meet, I don't often push my limits when I'm alone, so it was nice to have a
group of like minded folk around to help you out just in case. It was a
great chance to increase our skills and I look forward to getting my Dagger
so I can play like the real rock gardeners. I'm sure Billy has some great
pictures of the day and thanks again to Jack for leading us and George for a
helping hand!

Mark Sanders
www.sandmarks.net

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